Robert Andrew Parker

09/25/2014

After last week's referendum, it turns out that the United Kingdom will indeed stay united ... at least for the time being. Take an illustrated trip with Modern Graphic History Library to jolly ol' England and the rest of the UK.

by Robert Andrew Parker, date unknown

You will want to get a British car in order to get about town, plus all those round-abouts.

by Rene Bouché, Holiday, April 1957

While you are there, you can catch a cricket game (while drinking French-imported vermouth).

by unknown artist, Holiday, September 1957

You can sample all the unique British food ...

by Robert Andrew Parker, TWA Ambassador, October 1984

Although you may need a dictionary to figure out what you are eating.

by Robert Andrew Parker, TWA Ambassador, October 1984

British food no longer has its bad reputation.

by Robert Andrew Parker, TWA Ambassador, October 1984

But on the chance you end up dining with royalty, it's best not to talk about the subject.

by Robert Andrew Parker, TWA Ambassador, October 1984

You can venture up to Scotland, wear a kilt, and hike through the woods. You never know what you might find.

draft illustration by Robert Andrew Parker for Cold Feet, a Scottish ghost story about a bagpiper who takes the boots from a deceased man he finds in the woods, published in 2000

After the hike in the Scottish woods, it might be best to come back home.

09/18/2014

Back in August 1994, President Bill Clinton issued Proclamation 6716 stating the month of September to be Classical Music Month. In celebration of this, Modern Graphic History Library looks at various illustrated album covers of classical recordings from the 1950s - 1970s.

by Cliff Condak, Epic Records, 1959

Originally, album covers were simply paper wrappers -- usually brown, but sometimes tan or green. An art director at Columbia Music, Alex Steinweiss, changed that in 1939 or 1940 (sources vary) by adding graphic arts, photographs, and typography to the jacket cover. At first Columbia executives were skeptical, until sales increased. Soon every record label was adding some type of graphic design to the album. When the LP format was released in 1948, that provided additional space for jacket creation.

by Cliff Condak, Columbia, 1979

The use of illustration for album covers began on a regular use in the 1950s. Columbia's art director, S. Neil Fujita, was one of the pioneers of hiring painters and illustrators to create album artwork.

by Robert Andrew Parker, Odyssey Records, date unknown

At the beginning of the 1950s, magazine illustration was thriving, both in fiction illustration and in advertising. However, throughout the decade as television became more popular with the public, advertisers allocated more of their budgets to TV ads instead of magazine illustrations. Magazine subscriptions were declining and many magazines folded while others struggled to survive the decade. Magazine illustration jobs were becoming harder to find, so many artists began illustrating covers for albums (primarily classical and jazz) plus the growing paperback industry.

by Cliff Condak, Columbia, 1977

Many illustrated classical music covers continued the tradition of including the composer's image. Sometimes photographs were juxtaposed to the illustration.

by Robert Andrew Parker, Columbia, 1973

Other techniques were used as well. Robert Weaver, who liked to use collage in his works, combined photographs with expressionist lines to convey the movement of the conductors.

by Robert Weaver, Columbia, 1977

Some album covers would let the artist depict a theme of the music or the overall mood of the piece. For expressionist artists such as Cliff Condak, Robert Andrew Parker, and Robert Weaver, this provided many opportunities to visualize the music to the potential album buyer.

05/14/2014

Robert Andrew Parker is 87 today. Parker is an expressionist artist and illustrator whose art has appeared in magazines such as Fortune, Esquire, New York, New Yorker, and Sports Illustrated as well as on book covers and album covers. He uses both watercolors and acryllics, and at one point after having a surplus of acryllic paint, has watered down acryllic paint to be used as watercolor.

by Robert Andrew Parker, undated

Parker is also a musician and a jazz lover. He plays the drums and has previously played reeds, clarinet and soprano saxophone.

by Robert Andrew Parker, undated

Parker grew up listening to jazz which was the main music heard in his house. His mother's classical music albums were seldom played.

Parker sees his artwork and his music as separate : "generally, one doesn't feed the other." However, he has often illustrated musical themes for magazine articles and album covers.

by Robert Andrew Parker, for New York, March 10, 1980

Parker studied art at the Art Institute of Chicago. While at the Institute, he bought paperback books that had covers he thought were ugly and would draw new ones as an exercise. He never expected to actually have a career that included illustrating book covers, since he never thought his style of artwork would appeal to illustration clients.

by Robert Andrew Parker, proof of book cover, date unknown

After graduating from the Art Institute in 1952, he went to New York. There he taught art for the New York School for the Deaf. He later had a show at the Roko Gallery. Not only did the Museum of Modern Art purchase several of his works, but an editor for Seventeen attended the show and asked Parker to do an illustration for the magazine. Parker then began getting illustration assignments for magazines and advertisements.

by Robert Andrew Parker for Travel and Leisure, April 1988

Parker prefers to draw his illustrations quickly. For some illustration requests for pharmaceutical advertisements in the late 1950s, he would draw conceptual drawings in just several minutes. Parker would then wait several weeks before submitting them, so that the client wouldn't think that he just rushed through the assignments.

book cover for Piano Starts Here, 2008, written and illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker

Parker has illustrated over 90 children's books, plus many poetry books and literary classics. A biography on jazz musician Art Tatum, Piano Starts Here, is the first children's book that Parker both wrote and illustrated.

Here is an image he painted of Tatum as a four-year old while creating the book.

by Robert Andrew Parker, ca 2008

This is the final image used in the book.

by Robert Andrew Parker, Piano Starts Here, 2008, page 5

Modern Graphic History Library wishes Robert Andrew Parker Happy Birthday.

Credits:

The Piano Starts Here book cover and page 5 image are from the children's book that is available in Modern Graphic History Library's reference collection.

04/23/2014

April is National Lawn & Garden Month. After the icy, cold winter we just had, it's finally time to celebrate spring and get those gardens and lawns ready. Find your gardening gloves, get out your lawn mowers, and let's get started.

by Neysa McMein, McCall's, May 1934

You'll need to decide what type of garden you want. Vegetables ?

by Harold Anderson, Liberty, June 10, 1933

Perhaps roses ?

by Karl Anderson, Good Housekeeping, May 1906

Maybe a colorful flower garden.

by Wilmont Emerton Heitland, Woman's Home Companion, July 1928

Of course you'll need the proper tools ...

by Georges LePape, House and Garden, March 1928

You may want to brush up on your flower knowledge.

by Eric Gurney, Holiday, September 1951

And perhaps find someone to help you out ...

by Perry Barlow, New Yorker, April 26, 1941

You'll want to keep your lawn neatly mowed ... or else what will the neighbors think?

by Thornton Utz, Saturday Evening Post, May 20, 1961

Of course, if you don't have a green thumb, there are other options.

by Thornton Utz, Saturday Evening Post, May 2, 1953

Modern Graphic History Library wishes you the very best in your gardening pursuits.

11/27/2013

Thanksgiving is fast approaching. Are you having nightmares about not being ready?

Cover by J.C. Leyendecker, November 24, 1917

Don't worry...there's plenty of time. You still have one full day to bake all the pies and cakes that your dinner guests will devour.

from Ladies Home Journal, November 1911

You'll also have Thursday morning to finish the meal preparations. Of course, that means you'll miss the parade...

cover by Charles E. Martin, November 26, 1966

But you might be able to catch a football game after dinner ...

Cover by Lonie Bee, November 18, 1939

Of course, Thanksgiving isn't just about food - it's about time to spend with family and friends.

by Robert Andrew Parker, from A Great Miracle Happened There, 1995

Once it's over, it means the start of the holiday season. Except...the holiday season has already begun. Chanukah begins today!

The Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar, so holiday dates vary from year to year. It just so happened the earliest possible Chanukah and the latest possible Thanksgiving landed together. There won't be another overlap until 2070.

by Robert Andrew Parker, from A Great Miracle Happened There, 1995

Two holidays at once! That means a lot more cooking. We'd better call in reinforcements.

November 11, 1910 advertisement from an unknown publication

Modern Graphic History Library wishes everyone a Happy Chanukah and a Happy Thanksgiving.

by Robert Andrew Parker, from A Great Miracle Happened There, 1995

Credits:

The Robert Andrew Parker images are from the 1995 children's book, A Great Miracle Happened There : A Channukah Story by Karla Kuskin. The original artwork is from the Robert Andrew Parker Collection, and the book is part of the MGHL reference collection.

08/14/2013

If you watched any of the specials on Discovery Channel's Shark Week, you probably didn't feel like going near the water anytime soon. But now that Shark Week is over, you can relax and enjoy a shark free day at the beach.

Illustration by C.H. Freeman, Ladies Home Journal, September 1913.

Go play in the water...you never know what discoveries you might find.

Advertisement by unknown artist, Pictorial Review, August 1915.

Set out a beach blanket without fear of being trampled on by beachgoers running from the sharks.

Illustration by Jay Barnum, American Magazine, May 1936.

You could set up an umbrella and enjoy the peaceful view.

Illustration by Robert Andrew Parker, date unknown.

Perhaps, go enjoy an afternoon of sailing.

Illustration by Edwin Georgi, Vogue, April 15, 1948.

You won't have to worry about dangling your feet above the water.

Illustration by Pete Hawley, Saturday Evening Post, May 25, 1946.

At least, not until next year...

Illustration by Jack Unruh for an advertisement for Walsh, Greenwood Information Systems, 1985.

This past weekend, Man of Steel, a reboot of the Superman origin story, debuted in movie theaters. In this reboot, you get to meet Superman's Kryptonian family, though you won't get to meet Krypto the dog...

From the cover of Superman Annual, summer 1962.

...or Super Monkey either.

From the cover of Superman Annual, summer 1962.

Seventy-five years ago in June 1938, Superman debuted in Action Comics #1, becoming America's first superhero. He was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, who became friends in high school because of their love for science fiction and adventure comic strips like Buck Rogers.

The Superman that appeared in Action Comics was actually Siegel and Shuster's third incarnation of the character. The first was a human who developed telepathy powers from a meteor and used them for evil. He was confronted by a seemingly helpless reporter, who wasn't as helpless as he appeared.

Superman #297, March 1976

The second version had Superman as a strong, human good guy, but with no super powers. Elements of these earlier versions found their way into the ultimate third version, along with Siegel's teenage crush on a girl named Lois, who thought he was strange and ignored him.

Superboy #9, July 1961

The Superman debut launched a self-named title in the summer of 1939. By the 1950s, Superman titles were the best sellers at DC Comics, with Lois Lane's title outselling Batman!

In the beginning, Shuster's bold, cartoony style still showed in the artwork, even if he wasn't drawing all the panels. The artists would try to copy Shuster's style, but if Shuster wasn't satisfied, he would draw on top of the image or just redraw it.

After the 10 year contract to produce Superman ended, Shuster ceased to draw the character, but Siegel would continue to write occassional uncredited stories. Over the years, the stories would evolve and become darker, socially-relevant, and psychologically complex.

Superman: the Man of Steel #39, December 1994

The art style also evolved, as artists stopped trying to recreate the original look. Immediately after Shuster left, Superman was taller with a larger chin, and eventually become more muscular. Over the years, the character was drawn more realistically and with greater detail. In some versions, the attention to detail would cause the character's attributes (especially his muscles) to be overexaggerated.

Adventures of Superman #623, February 2004

Many Superman-related titles from the 1960s - mid 2000s are available for viewing at the Modern Graphic History Library. You can also view a book on the history of Superman and many of his covers throughout the years. Olin Library also has the George Reeves television series and Christopher Reeve's first Superman movie on DVD.

06/05/2013

You are all invited to come on a picnic with Modern Graphic History Library. We'd better hurry up and go, before it starts to rain again.

First, we will need proper hats. A Spring hat won't do, and a Summer Hat is too dressy.

Article from Ladies Home Journal, July 1911.

A striped linen hat makes a smart-looking outing hat.

Illustration from Ladies Home Journal, July 1911.

Perhaps a hat with a giant satin ribbon is more to your liking.

Illustration from Ladies Home Journal, July 1911.

As for food, no picnic can go wrong with Post Toasties. It's ready for immediate use by adding some milk and sugar. There's no fear from contamination from dust because of its double-sealed package. Plus, its convenience saves the bother of having to plan the meal.

Advertisement from Ladies Home Journal, July 1913.

We will need a way to transport the milk for the cereal. For $1.95, we can purchase a Universal multi-cup vacuum quart bottle. A Universal is "the best friend a picnic ever had." It promises to keep our liquids cold for 72 hours, but we should be finished eating before then.

Advertisement from Delineator, July 1929.

Now that the food is ready, we need a way to get to our picnic location. Luckily, we've got Pontiac Six, which only cost $745. The efficiency of the car makes it low-cost so we can use it often for drives to the countryside for our picnics. Don't forget to bring a book to read, or some swimgear for fun in the water afterwards.

Advertisement from McCalls, June 1930.

Hopefully we won't encounter any ants...

Illustration by Robert Andrew Parker, date unknown.

Otherwise someone could end up in tears...

Fiction illustration by Al Parker, for Baird Hall's Blaze of Glory, Ladies Home Journal, September 1936.

If that does end up happening, feel free to just go on and finish eating.